Photo of The Month – Jun 2003

Old Depot

Picture and text by: Jim Ruppe

Five men, one in engineer's clothing, the others in suits, stand on a rough platform in front of the building's door. Above them is a passenger train schedule, marked with chalk. At left is one of the passenger cars. — Early Cliffside Railroad Depot – About 1914

The dapper gentlemen appear on a platformed board and batten building. I have noticed that many of the early Cliffside outbuildings were built using this vertical siding method (the little white buildings by the mill, for example). In the haste of the construction some ‘green’ wood was used, and fully cured kiln dry lumber was at a premium. The platform and the siding reflect some of the shrinkage that would occur.

“I think the depot shown in this photo is the same building used as a freight depot in later years, as shown in CRR-Engine No 110: #038 Engine #110, for there is a great similarity of the eaves and platform. (According to Horton Landreth [proprietor of Cliffside’s only funeral home], caskets used to be shipped there as late as the early 1960’s.) This building as well as other outbuildings were probably re-sheeted at a later date with horizontal beveled or shiplap siding.

“The schedule board on the wall gives the daily arrival and departure time for the four daily runs to and from Cliffside Junction, the railroad’s only destination.

“Those celluloid detachable collars and three button suits with derbies or other foppish hats were the fashion style of the day. The person on the left was probably the train engineer or crewman and may have been one of those listed by Mrs. Cargill in her recollections.

The train car and engine are likely part of the original purchase of rolling stock by R.R. Haynes. (See CRR-Oldest Engines: #86 Engine #1 and #84 Engine #5.)

“The photo is the same process that was used by Hames Studio but is not stamped as such.”

—Jim Ruppe